Essential X-Factor #1

In "What Lurks Below?", the original X-Men reunite when Jean Grey’s return from the brink of death stirs long-buried secrets and the Phoenix’s lingering echo. With Jean recounting her ordeal, the team forges X-Factor—not as hunters, but as protectors, secretly rescuing vulnerable mutants like Navy man Rusty Collins, whose sudden flame powers mark him as both danger and hope. Written by Bob Layton and illustrated by Jackson Guice, with inks by Layton, Guice, and Joe Rubinstein, and a striking cover by Walter Simonson and Joe Rubinstein, this 2005 launch blends emotional reunion with a new mission, all set against the backdrop of a world still wary of mutants.